BRISTOL, Tenn. (Jan. 27) – After converting 50.0 percent from the field in the second half, the University of Mount Olive women's basketball team cruised past King by a 67-50 margin in Conference Carolinas action on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Trojans collect back-to-back victories to improve to 5-12 this season with a 3-6 mark in conference play. Mount Olive has won four of the last five meetings against King and sits fourth in the east division with the KPI rankings set to be released on Monday, Jan. 29, which determines tournament seeding. Meanwhile, the Tornado drop to 2-18 overall behind a 1-9 mark in league action.
Sophomore
Laila Anderson produced a game-high 20 points while converting a perfect six-of-six from the free-throw line. She added three rebounds, five assists, and two steals in 40 minutes on the court. Anderson is tied for the conference lead with 19.1 points per game while recording her ninth 20-point game of the year.
Junior
Dominique Pacheco finished with nine points on four-of-six shooting in 17 minutes off the bench. Fellow junior Tia Tucker totaled eight points and eight rebounds in her return to the lineup after missing the previous three games. Sophomore
Jada Priebe contributed seven points, four rebounds, and one block in 22 minutes. Senior
Reagan Hune registered seven points, four rebounds, one assist, and one block in 31 minutes. Junior
Alexis Durham also tallied seven points while adding five rebounds, two assists, and one block in 26 minutes.
The Trojans established an early 6-3 edge in the initial four-plus minutes of the contest before King nailed a three-pointer to tie the game at 6-6 with 4:39 left. UMO regained the lead with an 8-2 run, led by Tucker with four points, to take a 14-8 advantage in the first. The Tornado closed the quarter with three unanswered points to cut the deficit to 14-11. In the second quarter, King trimmed the deficit to 16-15 with 7:40 to go before both sides went scoreless over the next three minutes. Mount Olive mounted an 8-1 run to build the lead to 24-16 before King scored eight of the final nine points to close the gap to 25-24 at halftime.
The Tornado took a 26-25 lead in the third quarter after a two-plus minute scoreless drought, but the Trojans responded with a 13-0 run with Hune and Tucker combining for nine points, 38-26. King scored consecutive three-pointers before UMO went on a 9-3 run to close the third with a 47-35 advantage. The teams exchanged baskets in the opening minutes of the fourth before Mount Olive scored six straight points to take a convincing 60-41 lead with 4:50 remaining. The Trojans made three-of-six from the floor in the final minutes to secure a 67-50 win.
UMO shot at a 45.8 clip (27-of-59) from the floor while going 11-of-16 (68.8 percent) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, King finished the game shooting 27.3 percent (15-of-55) and converted 16-of-30 (53.3 percent) from the charity stripe. The Trojans held a 39-37 rebounding advantage with 42 points in the paint, while the Tornado registered 23 points off the bench.
Junior Ashley Allen finished in double figures with 10 points while adding six rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block in 31 minutes. Freshman Alayna Smith contributed nine points and 10 rebounds, while junior Alexa Gramann tallied seven points, five rebounds, and one block in 21 minutes.
Mount Olive returns to the court on Wednesday, Jan. 31, when it faces UNC Pembroke in league play at 5 p.m.
